Here at Green Writers Press, we are busy planning our Spring Book launch set for April 24th at 3:00 PM at Next Stage Arts in Putney. We are also busy celebrating all things African-American and honoring our newest authors who write so eloquently about race and the struggle for equality. We join the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.

We’d like to tell you about a few books that we are honored to publish—one is just out this past year, and the other forthcoming in 2016!

Blackberries and Cream is the compassionate and insightful story of a young white girl balancing her love for her African-American caregiver and her depressed mother in 1960s Alabama. Full of Southern charm and subtle wisdom, this novel explores the meanings of love, family, and courage in a heartfelt coming-of-age tale that will resonate with children and adults alike. This novel comes at a poignant moment in our society when racial prejudices still linger and the challenges to diversity in children’s literature remain difficult to confront. Blackberries and Cream is perfectly suited to help cultivate awareness about these issues, inspiring meaningful reflection and discussion in young readers. It is 210 pages long and can be considered children’s fiction (middle grade to young adult readers) and historical fiction. We are hoping readers will spread the word. 

Vermont author Leslie Rivver and her best friend, growing up, Ida Bell, in Alabama 20 years ago.

This photo is from twenty years ago, of the author Leslie Rivver and her caregiver Ida Bell, who are the main characters in this semi-autobiographical novel we are promoting during Black History Month. ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth‬

PRAISE
“Brimming with wisdom and mischief, this tender, heartfelt celebration of an abiding friendship between a white girl and her black caregiver in 1960s Alabama reminds us that the love we experience in childhood has the power to sustain us through a lifetime of change.”
–Irene Latham, author of Leaving Gee’s Bend

The cover painting is by Clarence Major, entitled “Lady,” 60 x 36 inches; acrylic on canvas.

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We are also thrilled to announce the upcoming story collection by Clarence Major. Chicago Heat and Other Stories employs a gorgeous purity and simplicity of language in a series of masterful analyses examining human interaction. Each narrative voice comes forward all at once, individual and complete, without obstacle or complication, enabling the reader to see the characters and feel their emotions. Major does not shy away from the bitter or the harsh; we get to hear it all. Like paint on an easel he blends lyricality with moxie and the blunt with the beautiful. The characters come together as easily as they part; people leaving, coming back, going, staying—it all sticks and fades like heat on your skin. The imagery is completely accessible and generously given. Toni Morrison comes to mind. His work is like jewels.

Clarence Major’s list of works and achievements is an impressive one. From awards like the Pushcart Prize and National Book Award to fellowships like the Fulbright Fellowship and National Council for the Arts Fellowship, Clarence Major has established himself as a prominent literary figure. Having written more than eight novels, including My Amputations and Dirty Bird Blues, alongside a dozen books of poetry, Chicago Heat and Other Stories is only his second work of short fiction and first book with Green Writers Press.

CLARENCE MAJOR is a prizewinning short story writer, novelist, poet and painter. As a finalist for the National Book Award he won a Bronze Medal for his book Configurations: New and Selected Poems 1958-1998.  Major was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, The Bay Area Book Reviewers Book Award and The Prix Maurice Coindreau in France. He is the recipient of The Western States Book Award, The National Council on The Arts Award, a New York Cultural Foundation Award, The Stephen Henderson Poetry Award for Outstanding Achievement (African-American Literature and Culture Society of The American Literature Association), the Sister Circle Book Award, two Pushcart prizes, the International Literary Hall of Fame Award (Chicago State University), the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award in the Fine Arts, presented by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and other awards. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Davis.

PRAISE FOR THE WORK OF CLARENCE MAJOR
“Clarence Major has a remarkable mind and the talent to match.”     —Toni Morrison
“A pioneer on the cutting edge of contemporary fiction.” —Charles Johnson
“[Major’s] language is both lyric and precise. His vision is both humorous . . . and serious.
His story is our own.”                  —National Book Award Finalist/citation for Configurations

“Clarence Major’s… gathering of short stories has extraordinary technical and emotional force, that pushes the form to its contemporary limits without losing contact with its sources in legend, tall-tale, conte, yarn…Major…proves that he is one of only a handful of American writers capable of doing significant work in more than one genre.” —Russell Banks

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Thanks for helping us spread the word about our growing press, especially the authors that help all of us celebrate our freedom and social justice, and foster increased awareness in environmental sustainability. Here is an eloquent quote from Clarence Major in support of our work at the press:

One of the most pressing issues for all of humanity is the environment, namely climate change.  I would like to support efforts to bring about awareness of the problem. We are running out of time. —Clarence Major